The debut of new film Death on the Nile has been pushed back to 2022, Disney says, amid more changes to the company’s release schedule.
Cruella, Marvel’s Black Panther and Pixar’s Luca have also seen their release dates move, as the company continues to navigate the pandemic and shift more of its content online.
The delay for Death on the Nile, which was originally slated to hit screens in 2019, comes after rape allegations against its star Armie Hammer.
Armie Hammer denies any wrongdoing. Pic: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
He denies any wrongdoing.
The film, which is being released under Disney’s 20th Century Studios company, will now be aired 11 February 2022.
Elsewhere, Cruella, the origin story of the 101 Dalmatian’s villain, will be released simultaneously on Disney+, its streaming platform, and in cinemas on 28 May.
Marvel’s Black Widow, another origin story, will also see a simultaneous digital and cinematic release, hitting small and big screens on 9 July.
Disney+ users will have to pay an additional fee to watch the films when they are released on the platform, however.
It comes after both Mulan and Raya and the Last Dragon bypassed movie theatres and hit Disney+ instead, with cinemas still largely remaining shuttered in western markets.
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The new offering from Pixar, Luca, about a pair of Italian children who are also sea monsters, will be released solely on Disney+ on 18 June.
The moves underline Disney’s business shift to its streaming platform, taking on the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Earlier in the month, the entertainment giant revealed that in just 16 months, Disney+ had amassed 100 million subscribers – compared to Netflix’s 200 million.
Disney, which also owns Fox, will still release some of its films in the cinemas over the next 12 months, including new Marvel film Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on 3 September; a prequel to the Kingsman films, The King’s Man on 22 December, and thriller Deep Water on 14 January 2022.
